The Meeting
by BookJunkie007
Summary: Alternative ending to Bloodlines chapter one. Minor spoilers. Sydney's point of view. One shot.


**AN: First off, this is my first attempt at writing Vampire Academy fic, and, being a casual reader of the series, it may not be exactly in character, for which I apologise. This alternative scene came about from skimming through the first chapter of Bloodlines when it was posted. I started to imagine this scenario, but when I went back to read properly, I realised Keith came into the picture instead. Unhappy with this, I developed this alternative ending. The quote is where the chapter changes from the actual first chapter into the alternative ending. It's in Sydney's point of view. Enjoy.**

_The sound of a car door opening and slamming outside the window caught everyone's attention. "Ah," said Michaelson. "There are the others. I'll let them in."_

_He slipped out of the study and presumably headed toward the front door to admit whoever had arrived._

_Bloodlines, p. 16_

Four dhampirs and two Moroi filed into my father's study, and I could see that Michaelson was somewhat wary of them, and slightly disgusted. It didn't show on his face, but I could tell he was unhappy about having to let them into the house. I recognized Rose and Dimitri instantly and inwardly smiled. I had kind of figured they would be here, rebels that they were. I was relieved to find Jill looking unharmed, though a bit confused. I recognized the other three, but had never been officially introduced.

"I thought only one dhampir was going to come tonight," Barnes said, a bit annoyed at being in the presence of so many of the "evil" ones.

"It was, but Eddie said it was his right to be here, and Rose and Dimitri insisted on being here to make sure everyone knows the plan," Hans, I think his name was, said.

Introductions were made on both sides. I officially met Adrian, Eddie, and Hans, who is in charge of the guardians at Court. The dhampirs were constantly alert, and looking around, while Jill and Adrian were more relaxed.

I think the other Alchemists were a bit surprised when Rose introduced herself. I don't know what they were expecting, but apparently a five-foot-seven, curvy, beautiful girl with long dark hair, who didn't look like she could kick ass and take names wasn't it. Not for all the trouble she's caused and gotten into.

The Alchemists were more wary of Dimitri and I couldn't blame them. He looked every inch a person who would kick ass and take names.

Adrian I wasn't too sure about. I had heard about him from Rose and Dimitri and some of the things had been less than complimentary. I also noticed he was standing away from Rose and Dimitri, as if he couldn't stand to be in the same room as them. I then remembered Rose and Adrian had been dating before Rose had gone on the run with Dimitri by her side. Something had happened during that time which caused Rose to break up with him, if Adrian's behavior was anything to go by.

Eddie radiated strength and had a reassuring presence. If he was going to be coming with us, I felt safe. There was also a respect which seemed to emanate between him and Rose. I had heard some of the crazy things he had done with for Rose, and she always spoke about him with a high regard.

Zoe still cowered next to me, slightly fearful about being in the presence of so many of the undead. I wanted to reassure her it would be okay, but I couldn't do it without alerting our father to my intentions.

As we went through the details of our move to Palm Springs and what would occur, Michaelson questioned why Eddie was going.

"I mean," he said with a sneer, "isn't there someone with slightly more experience who could go? He's barely an adult."

"Eddie's going because I would trust no one else with the job of guarding Jill," Rose said with a fierce protectiveness. "He knows what the real world is like, and had one of the highest qualification marks in our graduating class."

I realised Rose and Eddie must have a strong bond. Not in the way Rose and Lissa were bonded, but in a different way.

"Who was the highest?" Michaelson asked. "Shouldn't they have the honor of guarding the girl queen's sister?"

"I was," Rose said without a hint of arrogance, merely a statement of fact. "I have a different assignment, though: I'm one of Lissa's guardians."

"The girl queen?" Stanton asked. At Rose's nod, she continued, "It makes no difference to me who guards her sister, if she even needs a guardian."

"Also, we're still not quite sure who we're going to use as the Alchemist," Barnes said. "We're still trying to decide who to use between Sydney and her sister."

"Use Sydney," Rose said without hesitation. "I trust her and know for sure she can handle herself in high pressure situations. Also, Zoe is what, fifteen? That would be fine if we really needed someone close to Jill's age, but in this case, more experience is better. Trust me, Zoe is no where near close to being mature enough to be an Alchemist."

A bubble of pride rose in my chest that Rose regarded me so highly, but I was careful not to show it. The looks on my father and the others' faces weren't approving. They didn't like to be reminded of the fact I had been in close contact with Rose. They would have rather continued to pretend I hadn't disgraced the Alchemist name in such an obvious way.

We continued to work through the plans and details of the move and suddenly I got it. Jill, Eddie, Adrian, and I were outsiders of our worlds. We were important enough to not lose track of completely, but not important enough that we couldn't be shipped off to somewhere like Palm Springs. Some things were questioned by the Alchemists, but when the dhampirs explained it, it made sense why they were proposing that course of action.

Soon the last of the details were sorted and I was given a chance to quickly pack. Next stop: Palm Springs.


End file.
